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Kidney patient saved by his perfect sister
Anna Davis, Evening Standard10 Jun 2008
A city banker who almost died after suffering sudden kidney failure is alive today thanks to his sister.
Alexia Dorrell, 37, donated her kidney to John Sergides, 34, after discovering she was a perfect genetic match.
Now, six months after undergoing surgery, the siblings are urging other people to become living donors.
Mr Sergides, a director at JP Morgan, collapsed last September after suffering from headaches, nausea and shortness of breath.
He was taken to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, where he was told he needed a kidney transplant and was put on dialysis while tests were carried out on his family and friends in the search for a suitable donor.
When his sister's blood test came back it was initially mistaken for his because it was genetically identical. Doctors then realised the pair were genetically similar to twins and Mr Sergides was able to have the transplant within two months instead of enduring years on dialysis.
Mr Sergides, who is married and lives in Maida Vale, said: "Alexia has given me an amazing gift and I hope I will be given the chance to do a similar thing for someone else. It is impossible to explain what a living hell dialysis really is and I take my hat off to people who do it for years on end. I went back to work three months after the operation but if I was on dialysis I wouldn't be able to lead a normal life.
"My sister is such a good genetic match that in theory I shouldn't have to take immunosuppressant drugs because my body should think the kidney is mine but I am taking them just in case.
I feel great and would say to anyone thinking of donating a kidney that there is nothing to worry about.
"I feel like I could do anything now and am so grateful to my sister. We were always very close anyway so this hasn't changed our relationship."
Mrs Dorrell, from Waltham Abbey, who is married with two children, aged eight and five, said: "I would encourage other people to became transplant donors. It really doesn't affect your life afterwards and the only outward sign that I had the operation is a small scar.
"It is awful to watch someone you love deteriorate before your eyes while on dialysis."
Professor Nadey Hakim of the West London Transplant Unit, who carried out the operation, said: "John was very lucky to have a sister with such a good match."
